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Patchworks and other works

There are two very well defined routes for those who wish to practise art in this country. Firstly, there are the “serious artists”, who go to art college, soak up all the influences and then map out their own route through the world of painting with these influences as a starting point.

At the other extreme, there are the enthusiastic amateurs who just like to paint for the sake of it. Although technically very proficient, their paintings often lack meaning or depth and are painted more through visual than intellectual stimuli.

Marian Reilly is a long time resident of Castleknock who paints under the pseudonym “Inside Colours” and is one of those rare birds that appear to fit into neither category. Her forthcoming exhibition “Patchworks and other works” will be her first public display of her collection but this self-taught artist delivers a depth of meaning that would knot many an art critic’s brow.

“I have always been very passionate about art,” she explains. “It started out as a hobby and over time, I just began to commit more and more to it. It appears to be something inside of me that is very difficult to explain.

“The pictures seem to emanate from some inspirational source and I get a sudden burst of energy in which I work quickly using flowing colour and for the most part an artists’ knife. Naturally, I need to harness this energy and rein it in to create balance in the work.”

Marian paints mainly abstract art and probably would be described as a colourist. She creates images, shape and form that are organic in nature and are very personal to her, springing as they do from a lifelong love and fascination with colour.

The exhibition in Temple Bar can be divided into two separate sections, as per the title, “Patchworks” and “Other Works,” both comprising fourteen separate paintings. Whereas “Other Works” was completed over a period of four years very much in the “possessed” style outlined above, “Patchworks” is a canvas of a very different colour.

“The idea for Patchworks came to me about fourteen months ago,” she says. “I had very definite ideas of how I wanted to do it and I was very pleased in how it turned out. However, I noticed that every time I passed the painting, I saw little bits of it that I liked and I developed these pieces into fully-grown paintings of their own. As the paintings emerged, they became a complete body of work with a beginning middle and end and yet each painting stands alone as a separate entity. I worked on these paintings using blocks of colour with deliberate shape, texture, form and colour and the whole series more or less created itself, with myself as the medium.”

Marian’s creativity is stimulated by stillness and peace. “It is actually very straightforward,” she says. “It does not come from the intellect, though obviously you need to use the intellect to harness the energy, Rather, it comes from listening to what is inside of you. It sounds very arty but it is almost innate. It feels natural and I just tap into it.”

She admits freely that she is not an artistic scholar and is not in touch with the current scene in Ireland today. When I suggest to her that this makes her work closer to the true meaning of art, in that it is fresh and original rather than derivative, she modestly declines to comment. “I certainly feel that art could become a lot more accessible,” she says instead. “I intend to explore the area of poster copies of my work after this exhibition. I come from an ordinary background” – she was raised in Linenhall Street – “and passionately feel that art should be about bringing something new and fresh, yet at the same time, accessible into the world.”

“Patchworks and other works,” an exhibition of 28 paintings by Marian Reilly, takes place in Filmbase, Curved St., Temple Bar on Friday 25th April 2pm to 5pm and Saturday 26th April 10.30am to 5pm.

Admission is free.

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